Market Signals for the US stock market S and P 500 Index and Indian Stock Market Nifty Index for the Week beginning April 24

 

Asset Class	Weekly Level / Change	Implication for S & P 500		Implication for Nifty*
S & P 500	4134, -0.10%	Neutral	Neutral
Nifty	17624, -1.14%	Neutral **	Bearish
China Shanghai Index	3301, -1.11%	Bearish	Bearish
Gold	1994, -1.26%	Bearish	Bearish
WTIC Crude	77.95, -5.54%	Bearish	Bearish
Copper	3.99, -2.92%	Bearish	Bearish
CRB Index	271, -1.96%	Bearish	Bearish
Baltic Dry Index	1504, 4.81%	Bullish	Bullish
Euro	1.0990, -0.09%	Neutral	Neutral
Dollar/Yen	134.13, 0.27%	Neutral	Neutral
Dow Transports	14414, 1.17%	Bullish	Bullish
Corporate Bonds (ETF)	109.00, -0.36%	Neutral	Neutral
High Yield Bonds (ETF)	92.08, -0.32%	Neutral	Neutral
US 10-year Bond Yield	3.57%, 1.08%	Bearish	Bearish
NYSE Summation Index	301, 39%	Bullish	Neutral
US Vix	16.77, -1.76%	Bullish	Bullish
Skew	133	Neutral	Neutral
CNN Fear & Greed Index	Greed	Bearish	Bearish
20 DMA, S & P 500	4092, Above	Bullish	Neutral
50 DMA, S & P 500	4034, Above	Bullish	Neutral
200 DMA, S & P 500	3958, Above	Bullish	Neutral
20 DMA, Nifty	17422, Above	Neutral	Bullish
50 DMA, Nifty	17504, Above	Neutral	Bullish
200 DMA, Nifty	17595, Above	Neutral	Bullish
S & P 500 P/E	22.09	Bearish	Neutral
Nifty P/E	20.61	Neutral	Bearish
India Vix	11.63, -2.33%	Neutral	Bullish
Dollar/Rupee	82.04, 0.27%	Neutral	Neutral
Overall	S & P 500	Nifty
Bullish Indications	7	7
Bearish Indications	8	9
Outlook	Bearish	Bearish
Observation	The S&P 500 was unchanged and the Nifty fell last week. Indicators are bearish for the week. The markets are back at resistance. Watch those stops.
On the Horizon	Eurozone – German employment data, German GDP, German CPI, US – GDP, Japan –BOJ rate decision
*Nifty	India’s Benchmark Stock Market Index
Raw Data	Courtesy Stock charts, investing.com, multpl.com, NSE
**Neutral	Changes less than 0.5% are considered neutral

 

The S&P 500 was unchanged and the Nifty fell last week. Indicators are bearish for the week. We are back above resistance near the 50 and 200 DMAs on the S&P 500, as we transition from an inflationary regime to a deflationary collapse. The Nifty is below resistance near its 20 WMA close to 17750. The current market is tracking closely the 1973/2008 moves down in the S&P 500, implying a panic low right ahead in the upcoming months (My views do not matter, kindly pay attention to the levels). A dollar rebound from major support is a likely catalyst.

The past week saw US equity markets little changed. Most emerging markets fell, following a rise in interest rates. Transports rallied. The Baltic dry index rose. The dollar was unchanged. Commodities fell. Valuations are quite expensive, market breadth improved, and the sentiment is now bullish. Fear has cooled off again, despite possible contagion risk from bank failures. The sudden steepening of the yield curve, with rates falling, is a precursor to the next recession, and most risky assets will underperform going forward under such conditions. 42% of the S&P 500 report earnings this week, so a break out from the current range is likely.

The recent currency crisis should resume and push risky assets to new lows across the board. Deflation is in the air despite the recent inflationary spike and bonds are telegraphing just that. Feels like a 2008-style recession trade has begun, with a potential decline in risk assets across the board.

The S&P 500 is encountering resistance near its recent highs. Monthly MACDs on most global markets are still negative. This spells trouble and opens significant downside risk ahead. We have got bounces from recent lows without capitulation. This suggests the lows may not be in and the regime has changed from buying the dip to selling the rip. We may get a final flush down soon. Risky assets should continue breaking to the downside across the board, as downward earnings revisions are underway.

The Fed is aggressively tightening into a recession. Deflationary busts often begin after major inflationary scares. The market has corrected significantly, and more is left on the downside. The Dollar, commodities, and bond yields are continuing to flash major warning signs despite recent countertrend moves.

The epic correction signal occurred with retail, hedge funds, and speculators all in, in January 2022, suggesting a major top is in. The moment of reckoning is here. With extremely high valuations, a crash is on the menu. Low volatility suggests complacency and downside ahead.

We rallied 46% right after the Great Depression (the 1930s) first collapse and we rallied over 120% in our most recent rally of the COVID-19 lows. After extreme euphoria for the indices, a highly probable selloff to the 3300 area is emerging on the S&P 500, and 15000 should arrive on the Nifty in the next few months. The Nifty is catching up with other assets on the downside.

The trend has changed from bullish to bearish and markets risk getting a reality check and being smashed by contagion risk from an economic slowdown and a strong dollar. Global yield curves have inverted significantly reflecting a major upcoming recession. Looking for significant underperformance in the Nifty going forward on challenging macros.

The critical levels to watch for the week are 4150 (up) and 4120 (down) on the S&P 500 and 17700 (up) and 17550 (down) on the Nifty. A significant breach of the above levels could trigger the next big move in the above markets.  High beta / P/E will get torched yet again and will likely prove to be a sell on every rise. Gold (though technically overbought in the short term) is increasingly looking like the asset class to own in the upcoming decade. You can check out last week’s report for a comparison. Love your thoughts and feedback.